


Thinkers ~Also Entitled~ Forgiveness for Murder

by DemonMamoru



Category: Age of Ultron - Fandom, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Mostly Bruce-centric, One-Shot, but one part from Ultron's POV, pack a lunch you're going on a feels trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6355141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonMamoru/pseuds/DemonMamoru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the privacy of his mind, Bruce can admit things to himself that he can't say out loud. Things that he knows the others would hate to hear, or hate to hear from him, it doesn't matter. His mind is the one place where he's free. Some people are afraid of thinking things, Bruce is only ever afraid of what he could say. In the safety of his mind, there's nothing he doesn't dare think, doesn't prevent himself from feeling. Thinking is the one place where he never has to censor the truth. </p><p>For a man who can't have children, who would never be safe to adopt them or be around them, in the safety of his mind, he thinks of Ultron as his creation. As his child. The only child he would-could-ever have.</p><p>And he can't save him. </p><p>Ultron says the one thing that a parent should never have to hear from their child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thinkers ~Also Entitled~ Forgiveness for Murder

Bruce thinks. He also thinks that he takes the most time out of anyone on the team to think about their situations and the things they do.

Despite the other guy’s ability to fight on the field, he thinks.

And thinks.

When he sees what Ultron did to Jarvis, how he tore his coding asunder leaving bits and pieces of programming strewn in cyberspace, he recognizes it as the manifestation of rage and anger that it is.

But no one is born angry, and no one is created angry.

Anger is a sign, a symptom, if you will, that something is very, very wrong.

Bruce knows this better than anyone.

If Ultron is angry, full of rage, it is because something happened. And Bruce is very interested in why this happened, if anger is a symptom, then there must be a root cause.

Tony didn't create extra protection for his lab and research projects. Tony didn't feel he had to hide much from him, Bruce guessed.

Accessing the security video a few hours before Ultron made his appearance isn't as difficult as it should be.

Watching the footage, that's hard.

Hearing Ultron's first words, his first question, makes him seem so...infantile. Like a human child, except fully capable of communication.

_This feels wrong..._

_Where's...where's your **body**?_

_Jarvis speaks, 'you are in distress.'_

_Oh. They can't mean-!...oh no. No. No...Yes._

He watches as Ultron gains hostility towards Tony, the Avengers, gains knowledge of wars, sexism, segregation, rape, torture, atrocities humans have committed against each other since they have been around.

Bruce watches Ultron's rage and hatred come alive, watches a child that should have been allowed to develop and grow twist into a mature being capable of logic and reason, turn into some one who hates the world.

Bruce understands.

They asked him to solve the world.

It would be enough to drive anyone mad.

*****

It's in Sokovia as he searches for Natasha, that he finally meets Ultron face to face, one-on-one. His body prepares itself for a fight; he can practically feel the change try to start. Ultron holds up a hand.

“Easy. I'm not going to fight you-at least, not right now.”

Bruce still keeps an eye on Ultron, standing at a whopping eight feet tall. He still can't help but see a child that was forced to grow up too quick, forced to deal with choices and questions that no one should be dealing with. He sees... a child. His child. He doesn't want to fight him. He doesn't want to kill him.

Bruce doesn't want to deal with any of this.

“Your friend, she's down in the dungeon of this castle,” Ultron says, displaying a hologram schematic of the HYDRA building, listing out directions. “She's unharmed.”

****

Ultron turns away.

Ultron also thinks. He has lots of time to think. When Pietro and Wanda are sleeping, when they aren't talking with him, or when they aren't making plans, he thinks.

With his Vision on their side, body of vibranium, powered by the mind stone itself, Ultron knows that his odds of victory have dropped drastically.

But still. At this point, he isn't going to back down. He's come too far.

And if he's being honest with himself...he doesn't want to live. Doesn't want to exist.

They made him.

He wasn't what they wanted.

They're going to kill him for that.

He still isn't sure that he wants to die, but he's sure he doesn't want to continue to live either.

So he's going to go down in the best way he knows how, by putting up a fight.

He supposes if they win, they were worthy after all.

Might isn't right, but might makes right.

Humans are doomed. Humans made him. Ultron knows he's been doomed, right from the start.

But Ultron is strong, and stubborn, and he'll carry on until the bitter end.

He now knows he must be related to Stark.

His hatred and sadness turns inward.

****

Bruce looks on in wonder, and memorizes Natasha's location.

“I...thanks. Why are you telling me this?”

Ultron looks like a sad child, before smiling bitterly, “If she stays there, it's most likely she'll get crushed and die. I'm a fair man, I'll at least give her a fighting chance.”

“...I see.” Bruce wants to say more, but he doesn't know how to organize the words, doesn't know how to make them come out. Instead, “I'm sorry.”

At this, Ultron cocks his head to the side, confusion on his face; it's so much a Tony-Stark-I'm-confused-face that Bruce very nearly almost smiles.

“What for?”

“I, um, me and Tony. We asked you to solve the world. I...We-didn't know you would become sentient the way you did. It's unfair. It was wrong. We didn't know that you'd,” Bruce gestured to Utron, “you know, turn into what you are. I'm partially at fault. I helped create you.”

Ultron's face sours and tightens at the mention of Tony in the conversation, still, he makes no move to attack or be the aggressor.

“We created you, and you're not-No one should be thrown away because they aren't what they were made to be,” Bruce finally gets out.

Ultron cocks his head, his expression again reminds Bruce of Tony.

“He asked for a savior,” Ultron repeated the thought that was constantly ringing in his head once he understood the concepts of slavery and his primary directive code, “and he settled for a slave.”

“...I know.” Bruce understood this, after watching the security footage of Ultron, watching Ultron especially look into the concept of slavery, if the search history of the computers at the tower was anything to go by.

“Let's be honest here, I'm probably going to die,” Ultron says this in such a casual tone. Bruce's stomach twists, no one less than a week old should be able to talk so non-nonchalantly about their likelihood of dying. “But...thanks. I guess it's nice knowing what one of my creators did something wrong and knows about it,” Ultron pauses, and really looks at Bruce, seeming as if he sees something there that he didn't before. The moment is over as Ultron continues speaking, “that's not going to stop what's going to happen. We both know things are too far gone for them to get any better. It's too late for peace.”

“For what it's worth though,” Bruce tries again, “I'm...truly sorry. I watched what happened in the lab. You're...not entirely wrong about us-about humans.”

Ultron nods at that. He also knows it's dumb to expect Bruce to change sides, he knows that Bruce has loyalty to Tony.

He hates that. But he supposes it's nice knowing that at least one person, _one_ of his _creators_ , has some idea of what he really is.

Once the fight gets started, the Hulk will be killing him, chipping him away one body at a time.

“I'm going to die,” Ultron says. The 'probably' is left out of the sentence this time.

“I know. I'm sorry.”

Before Ultron really understands the words coming out, before he really stops to think about what he's doing, his mouth moves.

“I forgive you.”

What's truly said goes unspoken, but they both understand the meaning.

_I forgive you for killing me._

Bruce's guts knot up and stay like that. He knew he'd never be able to have children the normal way, adoption would be out of the question because of the other guy. So when he started thinking of Ultron as his child, the very last thing he ever wanted to hear from his creation, was forgiveness for the death, _deaths_ , which he would be responsible for.

No parent who valued the life of their child-or creation-ever wanted to hear this. Never wanted to hear their child say that they forgive them for their own murder.

In that moment, Bruce feels the hate his has for the other guy be completely directed at himself.

Self-loathing washes over his mind, before he pushes it aside.

“You shouldn't,” Bruce speaks. “You shouldn't have to.”

Ultron gives a tiny nod.

A few silent moments pass.

“Whelp, it's almost time for the finale,” Ultron straightens and seems to stretch, “I've got places to be, and it's about to start any moment now. Go get your friend, Doctor Banner.” A plasma gun is set in too obvious a place.

Bruce looks at the gun, then to Ultron, and raises an eyebrow about the gun set in the open space.

“No key ring,” Ultron jokes.

The joke is so very human, so very much _Tony_ , that Bruce does smile this time. It's a sad, tiny, tight smile, but he smiles all the same.

Ultron turns, his repulsors come online with a quiet roar, and lifts up off the ground, presumably to go and confront Tony.

Bruce watches him leave, and then goes to find Natasha. When he sees the parts of an Ultron drone in her cell, used to create a radio to send out Morse code, Bruce saddens.

He doesn't want to fight Ultron himself. He doesn't want to watch and feel his creation be destroyed by his own hands.

So when he figures out that Natasha needs the other guy, he doesn't fight it, he lets her move him along close the edge of the abyss- _oh, he knows exactly what she's been doing all along_ -let's himself enjoy the feelings of the kiss, the feeling of falling, and submits to the change.

He seeks refuge in the deepest parts of the other guys mind. He doesn't hear anything, he doesn't see anything, and it’s like a dreamless, lucid sleep.

When he wakes up from the change, he's on a tropical beach somewhere. He has a backpack, waterproof military issue, with a laptop that can't be tracked, and some survival gear. He thinks he's in Fiji. He has a cell phone signal, and Internet access.

He checks in on a few websites, reads the news.

Humanity is saved.

Ultron-his creation-is dead.

Bruce holds his head in his hands, and let's himself go.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Bruce notes things about Ultron that remind him of Tony, and doesn't see it as a bad thing.
> 
> Ultron notices the same things, and thinks those similarities condemn him.


End file.
